The Complete Idiot's Guide (R) to Programming Basics
Published on 6. December 2001
Book
Paperback/Softback
288 pages
978-0-02-864286-4 (ISBN)
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Description
The Complete Idiot's GuideA (R) to Programming Basics is ideal for the computer user who has heard techy friends talk about loops and arrays or read bits and pieces about programming in glossy computer magazines but really wouldn't know how to start making a program if he or she had to. This books chapters present content in a gradual yet entertaining way on how basic programming concepts are put together to build simple but albeit fundamental programming results.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Dorling Kindersley Ltd
Target group
Primary & secondary/elementary & high school
Dimensions
Width: 232 mm
Thickness: 16 mm
Weight
480 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-02-864286-4 (9780028642864)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Award-winning author Clayton Walnum started programming computers in 1982, when he traded in an IBM Selectric typewriter to buy an Atari 400 computer (16K of RAM!). Clay soon learned to combine his interest in writing with his newly acquired programming skills and started selling programs and articles to computer magazines. In 1985, ANALOG Computing, a nationally-distributed computer magazine, hired him as a technical editor, and before leaving the magazine business in 1989 to become a freelance writer, Clay had worked his way up to executive editor. He has since acquired a degree in computer science and has written more than 40 books (translated into many languages) covering everything from computer gaming to 3D graphics programming. He's also written hundreds of magazine articles and software reviews as well as countless programs. His recent books include The Complete Idiot's Guide to Visual Basic 6 and Teach Yourself Game Programming with Visual Basic in 21 Days. Clay's biggest disappointment in life is that he wasn't one of the Beatles. To compensate, he writes and records rock music in his home studio. You can reach Clay on his home page at http://www.claytonwalnum.com or via e-mail at cwalnum@claytonwalnum.com.
Content
I. AN INTRODUCTION TO PROGRAMMING. 1. Programming 101. Psssst! Listen Up. What's in It for You? Looks Like Greek. Parlez-Vous BASIC? Getting Down to the Nitty-Gritty. Squashing That Panic Attack. 2. Introducing the Programmer's Toolbox. Typing It Up. Using a One-Line-at-a-Time Translator. Consulting a Full-Service Translator. Soliciting the Help of Debuggers. Putting It All Together. 3. Crankin' It Up with Qbasic. Where Is QBasic? Loading Qbasic. Exploring QBasic's Menu Bar. Loading a QBasic Program. Controlling the Edit Window. Typing Programs. Printing a Program. Cutting, Copying, and Pasting. Searching and Replacing. II. THE ABSOLUTE BASICS. 4. Places Where Numbers Live. A Comfy Home for Numbers. Working with Variables. Getting Values into Memory. Numeric and String Variables. What's a Nice Integer Like You Doing Here? 5. Computer-Style Arithmetic. Using Basic Arithmetic. Raising the Arithmetic Bar. Me First! Me First! 6. Decisions the Computer Way. A Digital Road Map. It's Simply a Matter of Choice. How Do You Compare? The Infamous GOTO. 7. Do It Again and Again. Around and Around We Go. Getting Dizzy Yet? Nearing the End of the Ride. One Last Spin. III. TAKING THE NEXT STEP. 8. Saying It with Text. 'Til Death Do They Part. The Long and Short of It. Bits and Pieces. A Textual Scavenger Hunt. A Capital Idea. Numbers to Strings. 9. Fancier Places Numbers Live. A Clever Solution to a Tricky Problem. The Old Indirect Approach. Yet Another Fantabulous Example of Programming Prowess. Starting Off Right. 10. Fiddling with Files. Three Steps to Access a File. Trying It Out. Loading Data from a File. Appending Data to a File. IV. ADVANCED PROGRAMMING. 11. Whoops! What Now? Two General Kinds of Errors. The Art of Predicting the Future. Putting on the Catcher's Mitt. Which Error Is Which? 12. Your Computer As Van Gogh. I Think I'm Seeing Spots! Graphics a la Mode. Every Picture Is Worth a Thousand (or More) Dots. Dot-to-Dot the Easy Way. 13. Your Computer As Beethoven. Making Computers Sing. Getting a Bit More Realistic. Woops, Zoops, and Zips. 14. One Step at a Time. A Programmer's Pyramid Plan. Blocks in the Pyramid. Variable Scope. Still More Blocks in the Pyramid. 15. Lookin' for Creepy Crawlies. Get the Raid! Raid the QBasic Way. V. AN INTRODUCTION TO OBJECT-ORIENTED PROGRAMMING. 16. Programming with Objects. Saddling a New Horse. Getting Back to OOP. Writing a Class. Classes Versus Objects. 17. Creating Your Own Objects. Adding Properties and Methods to a Class. Reading Your Books. The Stuff You Need to Know. Understanding the Basics of Inheritance. Dealing with Inheritance for Real. 18. The Strange World of Polymorphism. Getting Polymorphic. Polymorphism on the Loose. A Shape That Works. A Second Shape That Works. From Ancestor to Ancestor. Testing Your Shapes. End of the Line. 19. Exploring C#. Pronounced C Sharp. Judging a Book by Its Cover. Getting Your Application to Do Something. How OOP Fits In. VI. APPENDIXES. Appendix A. Programming Languages Overview. Appendix B. A Programmer's Quick Reference. Appendix C. Speak Like a Geek: The Complete Archive. Index.